Russian Drones Crash in Latvia After Entering NATO Airspace

Two drones entered NATO member Latvia from Russia and crashed on Thursday morning, the Latvian army said.

One of the drones hit an oil storage facility in Rezekne, about 40 km from the Russian border, national broadcaster LSM reported, citing police. A fire at the site had gone out by the time firefighters arrived.

Latvian authorities issued drone alerts to residents along the Russian border at 4:09 a.m. local time, asking them to stay indoors. All schools in Rezekne were closed on Thursday, the municipality said.

Several stray Ukrainian drones hit Latvia and its NATO neighbors Estonia and Lithuania in late March. One slammed into a chimney at a local power station, while another crash-landed in a frozen lake and exploded.

The Ukrainian drones were believed to have been launched to strike military targets in Russia.

The three Baltic countries have never allowed their territories and airspace to be used for drone attacks against targets in Russia, their foreign ministers said in April.

(reuters, est)